My Health News Reports UVM Biologist's Research on Emergence of Chagas Disease in U.S.

A new study led by biologist Lori Stevens and published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, suggests that Chagas disease, a parasitic infection that occurs mostly in Latin America, could be less rare in the U.S. than previously estimated. Stevens and her colleagues collected DNA from the blood of 13 triatomine bugs -- the insects that carry the parasite -- found in Arizona and Southern California. Five of the bugs had fed on human blood, though none were carrying the parasite. The findings indicate, Stevens says, a large amount of feeding on humans and the potential for cases of Chagas in people that haven't yet been detected. Read the story at MyHealthNews.com...